An open collection of baseball's little-known records and curiosities.

"He would have been among the league leaders in batting average for a majority of the season had he had enough plate appearances." -- 2008 St. Louis Cardinals Media Guide about non-roster invitee Mark Johnson

Saturday, October 24, 2009

.300 Hitters Who Didn't Stick

One of baseball's "big" numbers is .300. If you hit .300 or better, you're a good hitter. As the following players can attest, however, hitting .300 isn't always enough to stick in the major leagues.

Since 1954, thirteen players have hit .300 in more than 50 but fewer than 500 career plate appearances. Players who appeared in the majors during 2009 were not included. I chose fifty PA as the minimum because it takes at least ten starts to rack up that many times at the plate. Impressive as John Paciorek's career was, it doesn't fit the spirit of this post. By the end of this post, you'll see why I used 500 as the maximum.

Name

Year(s)

Age

Team(s)

Pos

PA

AB

AVG/OBP/SLG

Kevin Rhomberg

1982-1984

26-28

CLE

LF

52

47

.383/.423/.447

Randy Asadoor

1986

23

SDP

3B

60

55

.364/.397/.455

Rudy Pemberton

1995-1997

25-27

DETBOS

RF

147

134

.336/.395/.515

Joe Hall

1994-19951997

28-31

CHWDET

LF

52

47

.319/.385/.468

Norris Hopper

2006-2008

27-29

CIN

CF

440

396

.316/.367/.371

Victor Mata

1984-1985

23-24

NYY

CF

83

77

.312/.316/.416

Bob Hazle

19551957-1958

24-27

CINMLNDET

RF

297

261

.310/.390/.467

D.T. Cromer

2000-2001

29-30

CIN

1B

114

104

.308/.327/.577

Eddy Garabito

2005

28

COL

2B

102

88

.307/.384/.398

Bob Henley

1998

25

MON

C

132

115

.304/.377/.470

Andy Barkett

2001

26

PIT

LF

51

46

.304/.373/.413

Jose Ortiz

1969-1971

22-24

CHWCHC

CF

136

123

.301/.358/.390

Gerry Davis

19831985

24-26

SDP

RF

82

73

.301/.370/.397

The position listed is where the player spent the most time. Almost every player on the list played two or more positions.

Bob Hazle is probably the most famous name on this list. He hit .403 down the stretch in 1957 to help the Braves win the NL pennant. A slow start in 1958 doomed his career. Norris Hooper may still appear again in the majors. He played in AAA for the Reds, White Sox, and Nationals in 2009.

It's worth noting that two pitchers also qualified under the 50-500 PA criteria. Terry Forster, who pitched for five teams from 1971 to 1984, hit .397/.413/.474 over 86 plate appearances during his career. He was one for four as a pinch hitter. Renie Martin, who pitched for three teams from 1979 to 1984, hit .301 over 90 plate appearances. He was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Obviously, small sample size applies to all of these players. Who knows if they would have been able to hit .300 over a longer career. The fact remains, however, that they hit well in the few opportunities they were given.

I thought it would be interesting to post the following list as well. If you take out active players, here are the .300 hitters who debuted in 1954 or later with the fewest career plate appearances (min. 400):

Norris Hopper, 440 (.316)

Lyman Bostock, 2214 (.311)

Reggie Jefferson, 2300 (.300)

Manny Mota, 4227 (.304)

Rusty Greer, 4420 (.305)

Hal Morris, 4443 (.304)

John Kruk, 4603 (.300)

Mike Greenwell, 5166 (.303)

Ralph Garr, 5456 (.306)

Pedro Guerrero, 6115 (.300)

It looks like Norris Hopper has found a uncomfortable niche between flash in the pan and solid regular.

I could've gone back further, but I wanted to limit it to more recent players. Also, the 1920's and 1930's were marked by very good offenses leaguewide. I didn't think guys who hit .300 in a time when the league average was .280-.290 was particularly impressive. But yeah, if you go back further the list grows.